Hi, we're actually alive!

Seems like we've been so busy living life the last 2/3 of a year, that we've forgotten to preserve any of it in the blog! We'll have to backtrack sometime to go over what happened in the missing era, like our trip to Europe in February, but for now we'll start by showing you what we've been up to since getting back in the States.

Last winter I borrowed a friend's skis & boots that were 2 sizes too big but, with thick socks, allowed me to inexpensively sample the sport for the first time in ages. We went only twice- once on very tiny hills at Badger Pass in Yosemite which left me feeling very confident despite being an amateur, and second at Kirkwood- a resort for those with a little more hair on their chests. After tumbling continuously down a blue (intermediate) slope and running into a tree on a green (easy) route (the snow was crappy, may I add?!), I was nervous to try again this season, but having acquired my own equipment, we hoped the better fit around my ankles would improve my performance. I stuck to the greens to regain my composure, and after that successful visit, the following weekend I decided to go to the blue that had been my foe last year.
 

Here's the first part of it! (Click on photo to play the video.) I flew down it with only one gentle fall midway (and no falls on the second run!), so I eventually graduated to the back side of the mountain to try a different blue, thinking the snow might be better back there (the weather was pretty warm and made for slushy/cut up conditions). Perhaps an omen of things to come, I started off poorly, by running into and knocking over a sign on my way to the ski lift. Patrick was very patient and helped me the whole way down the hill, which ended up being a very slow, long descent that gave me a few souvenirs: a very sore neck from somersaulting, a softball sized bruise on my tricep, a line of bruising in the shape of a ski across my butt/thigh, and a renewed sense of anxiety for the next trip.

At my Monday workout the next day, I had to support my head with my hands to accomplish some of the exercises (since my neck was too sore to support the weight of it!), but luckily in the days to follow, I was able to recover. For our anniversary that week- March 20- Patrick sent me a lovely bouquet of flowers with a note I will treasure forever. We had a relaxing 1-hour couples massage in Modesto the Saturday following by upgrading a gift certificate, and a delicious a lunch at Mediterranean restaurant where we scored some free baklava- heck yeah!

We had a 3-day weekend for Cesar Chavez day, so we took an afternoon to go to Hite Cove and see the wildflowers in bloom. A couple years ago we posted pictures of the poppy-filled hillsides, if you recall. This year's pics aren't as intense since we dropped in a month earlier (the blooms weren't open wide yet), but there was plenty of beauty around us nonetheless.

For

 

These pods growing off a vine looked so alien! They had tons of spiky protrusions, but being lush and green, they were flexible and soft, not sharp.

 

And these looked like little doilies hanging off a stem.

The weekend of April 5 was quite a busy one. Friday night we had dinner and played assigned roles in a murder mystery dinner our friends in Mariposa hosted. Patrick was Khover T. Ageante, a British businessman, and I was a no-frills journalist from the US named Mary K. Trairie. The stage was set in wartime1940s Paris. The storyline got pretty crazy, but at least we looked cool, calm and collected!

We were super tired since we drove back home late, but were refreshed by morning time for Love Merced, a community cleanup day we've participated in periodically (remember the story of the wasp attack a year and a half ago?- that was Love Merced). The upper right picture isn't of us, but some other comrades that helped in creek cleanup. The mega drought we've had this year meant we could actually get to the creekbed and collect some disgusting stuff there too. But it was still tedious work- my PSA for the day: please don't dump and spread packing peanuts among thorny brambles!

And Sunday, April 6, we decided to get a third and final ski day in. Kirkwood got a big snowfall that week (a lot of ski hills couldn't even open because of the drought, that's why it's the only resort we've hit up), but unfortunately it was soooo slushy because temps were hitting the 60s. I took it very slow and incrementally got down the hills to avoid acrobatics. I mustered up some courage though and told Patrick I didn't want to be a wimp forever just cause of our last visit, so I would attempt the backside hill again. We took an easier route to the lift this time (no signs to knock over!), and luckily on the way up, I noticed a different hill that looked slightly less steep. We decided to check it out (it's the one Patrick is on in the above photo). I just took it nice and slow, a few yards at a time, and had a much less painful experience this time around. It wasn't the most fun skiing conditions, but I feel like I ended on a better foot, which will help me feel less anxious to start up next year!

As some of you know, last weekend we became the owner of two critters, much to our own surprise. More to come on that soon!

July in Tahoe

Looking now at the highlights from July, it appears we spent a lot of the first half of it in the Tahoe area! Patrick is around there a lot for his job anyway, but our recreational activities took us there as well.

Our friends Phil & Vanessa were married at The Hideaway (check out the website- the place was awesome!), where we stayed in our tent on the grounds but had access to plumbing in the fantastic giant "cabin" the wedding party stayed in, built by the owners that live on the back of the property. The house was on a small lake, with an overlooking deck and an adjacent hot tub dug into the Granite bedrock, and there was also a "saloon" on the premises, with pool table, air hockey and a bar counter where Patrick and I set up the food for the cocktail and hors d'oevre hour.

Earlier in the day, we went on a hike in the back parts of the property. Here's a view of the cabin, from afar!

While exploring, I saw this crazy looking, but pretty plant (especially with the butterflies). There was a creek not far, formed from what was probably snowmelt, and it created little waterfalls over the rock faces. We just laid near it under the shade of a tree for a bit and I thought, "It doesn't get better than this!"

Something we thought was really unique, and awesome in concept, was between the dinner and dancing, all of the guests gathered on the deck overlooking the lake to light floating candles in honor of the occasion. Unfortunately, the wind or slight movement of the water choked the flames right out, so it wasn't quite the picture taking opportunity we all had hoped. But it was certainly fun for all of us to attempt.

I had to work Friday, the 5th, so we returned to Merced, but on Saturday we headed North again! I camped with Patrick and shadowed him as he scouted out a couple potential places for more work equipment installs.

In between Patrick taking GPS coordinates and making notes, I took a moment to marvel over the look of this twisted fallen tree.

Car camping is full of comforts!

And even at the crowded campground, we managed to get a spot on a rock outcrop that placed us high enough to see the surrounding hills hit with the setting sun.

After our day scouting, we hiked for fun to Round Top Lake. The sky was clear, the temp was comfortable, and the scenery was beautiful, with particular emphasis on all the wildflowers that were out. I think this is in my queue of fave expeditions.

And while the lake was nice, our actually objective was in scaling Round Top itself.

The view from 10,000 or so feet, after a successful ascent. (Although we did have some trouble in figuring out how to get to the actual top after running into some sketchy stuff we decided to avoid.)

Patrick is slightly camouflaged in the lower right.

The summit made an excellent lunch destination. Especially since my lungs needed a serious break! I felt like I had to stop every few steps on the way up, huffing and puffing!

I love seeing the distinction in colors between the two water bodies.

As I said, there were flowers everywhere, of many varieties and colors!

Couldn't help getting a close-up. Too perfect a subject to resist!

End of July we headed home to Michigan for a visit, so clearly we're not caught up on things yet. But I'm glad to finally have shared these photos with you. The sights were too lovely to hoard. :-)

Highlights from End of May & June

Once again, we find ourselves behind, so time to get up to speed! Here are a few things that kept us tied up during early summer.

Patrick is in our church's Men's "Summer Stretch" program again this year. Not everyone is an experienced hiker/camper, so one thing they did differently this year was work in a preparatory day hike to give people a small taste of what they can expect on the climatic several-day trek in September. 

Patrick has now seen the Yosemite Valley floor from a handful of different angles/depths than I have.

Just a few guys are pictured, but there are more than twice the bunch of last year, at about 30-40 men. That will be quite the coordination effort for the large hike later! They are concerned about obtaining enough permits.

Patrick and I spent 24 hours in LA to rendezvous with our family friend, Evander, during the screening of his thesis film at the UCLA Prom Animation Festival. Unfortunately his flight out of the country was just the next day so we didn't get much time with him, but we decided to check out a few sights before our return trip. We wandered the Farmer's Market building, where I saw this stunning tiled wall I thought my mom would like.

We also explored the LA Zoo, where we paid the additional $10 each to go on the Indian Rhinoceros tour. Our money earned us a close-up photo, and the chance to pet and feed half an apple to Rhonda; definitely worth the expense! It's not very noticeable in this photo, but her horn was lost due to cancer. However, she is in remission and leads the life of a princess, her attendants informed us!

Seeing the elephants was another high point, especially with it's full tusks!

I am not sure I've seen a koala bear in person before, but they reminded me of teddy bears for sure.

This giraffe family was fun to watch. The little tyke spritzed about, the mom followed after, and the dad trailed behind. They didn't have far to walk but they always took every step in any direction together.

On the way back to Merced, we were stuck in traffic due to a fire. We saw the plume of smoke from quite far off. As we crept/waited, about 15 emergency vehicles passed us in the shoulder of the highway, and helicopters would periodically fly by, headed in the same direction. Eventually we were close enough to see flames still alight at the top of the hill and a group of firefighters hiking up to it. If you glance through the car window in the bottom right corner, you'll notice a glimpse of the completely charred truck we suspect caught the hillside on fire.

I turned 29 this year, and celebrated by making a double batch of confetti cupcakes in ice cream cones, decorated with pink frosting and 7 sprinkle varieties. It took me 3-4 hours to do so, with help from a friend, but they were completely delicious and cute as a button!

July review is headed your way in the near future!

More Catching Up!

Patrick gave an update on his work life; as for personal, it's also included a bit of outdoors.

For Easter season we chose to forgo crucifixion and instead opted for a burning at the stake. Followup included a casket forged of graham and chocolate and burial via mandible.

We spent a lot of time in the garden again this spring, prepping beds and planting veggies. A pleasant surprise was the poppy seeds I planted last year (with little success) apparently spread and mutliplied this year all along the perimeter of our apple tree and leafy edible greens. They added a lot of glam to the yard!

Our pal, Matt (in foreground), acquired a small retired wine barrel. Since we all lacked equipment to brew enough for the barrel, there was a conspiring and sharing of resources (with our friend Phil, in background, as well) to brew the full amount to fill it!

Even Liliann (Matt's 3-year old) joined in the festivities. A fun day of collaboration, and of course, refreshments alongside!

Speaking of Liliann, I spent most of the Saturday before Mother's Day helping distract her on a weekend field trip Patrick & Matt were assisting with. I was a little nervous since my interaction with youngsters is limited, but she's a real cool kid and very well behaved. Plus I got a colorful finger-painted 'Thank You' card delivered to me the next day- can't beat that!

The next day, Liliann wasn't around for me to distract, so I needed distraction. Thus playing with the macro feature on the camera while trying to keep this dude from crawling in my bag.

I got the chance to see Patrick in a teaching role, as he showed students from UC Davis how to take a flow measurement of some sort using a particular set of equipment.

I keep getting exposure to new types of plant life out here. These looked like flying saucers.

Patrick and I had carpooled with a coworker of his named Erin (and her dog Sage- lower right corner), so once the field trip was done, the three of us chose to explore a little before heading home. There was a short hike Erin had heard of with a nice vista. We aren't quite sure if we chose the intended trail, but it lead us to a great view regardless.

Our perspective from our perch.

I just thought this rock looked interesting. Probably would have been good for bouldering too!

Our personal travels also took us to LA recently, so we'll have something on that in the future as well. Notice I chose to omit the word "soon" since I've learned my lesson on throwing that around. I'd rather not risk being a liar anymore! :)